by CHLOE review
So, I finally made it to the heralded by CHLOE restaurant in Flatiron, NYC today. A hotbed of hipster veganism, by CHLOE is the restaurant Instagram dreams are made of. Tongue-in-cheek visuals (reminiscent of Shake Shack, tbh), a Parisian striped awning (an homage to her French roots, I'm assuming), and a swing in the window, what is there not to love?
...then we had the food. Or rather, the food had us. Halfway through, I stared at my friend and could barely muster out "Oh my God, I am so full wtf". Actually, it's now four hours later and while I'm sitting here typing to you I am still full. I'm afraid and also incredibly intrigued. If it's vegan it's supposed to be healthy, right? Healthy food is supposed to go right through you...right? So why do I feel like a teddy bear, stuffed with batting?
Here's what I ate:
THE GUAC BURGER (black bean quinoa sweet potato patty, corn salsa, onion, guac, tortilla strips, chipotle aioli, whole-grain bun) with beet ketchup
AIR BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES
FRESH COCONUT JUICE
Take a look at their entire menu here.
Within my experience lies the mystical deception of veganism as the pillar of health. Being vegan does not make you a healthier person. Oreos are technically vegan, people!
Physical location-wise, I have no context as this is the only by CHLOE location I've visited. I can say that we arrived at 6 PM and by 6:30 PM the line was almost out of the door, and finding a seat was very hard. I recommend getting there before 6 PM if you'd like to enjoy the dine-in experience. We made it just in the nick of time, any later and we would've been eating in Madison Square Park. We were able to slide ourselves into a round table right next to the freezer but the space was very tight. We were on top of the ladies sitting next to us, and literally I put my head back when I laughed at my friend's joke, and my head landed on someone's arm behind me - they were waiting on line to order. I saw coloring pages and crayons hanging around, but this definitely isn't a space I'd say you'd be able to bring a stroller to.
Ultimately, this was a really cute trip that I'm glad I got to experience with a friend and snap some photos for the 'gram. Would I go back? Probably not. I definitely wouldn't be getting a burger and fries, and I can get a green smoothie or a salad anywhere.